Nigeria to host international maritime confab

Nigeria is to host the third edition of Lagos International Maritime Week (LIMW) 2018 next week in order to explore opportunities in the country’s maritime industry.

The forum will bring together world maritime stakeholders in order to promote Nigeria as the preferred destination for maritime investments in Africa.

The Chairman, Zoe Maritime Resources Limited, Mrs Oritsematosan Edodo- Emore, disclosed this in Lagos, saying the theme of the event is “Developing Maritime Infrastructure in Africa.”

She explained that the event would focus on maritime business conference and exhibition. Edodo-Emore said the forum would provide an invaluable platform for organisations to expand their market share in the maritime industry not only in Nigeria, but in the West and Central African sub-regions.

She noted that the inaugural edition of the Lagos International maritime week held in 2017 was a huge success. Edodo-Emore added that the event would showcase new developments and products to put Lagos on the global map of maritime events worldwide.

“The programme also will work toward continuing the promotion of Nigeria as the preferred destination for maritime investments in Africa. She said that regional stakeholders would also be participating at LIMW event

Trump: We’ve killed Osama bin Laden’s son

The son of former Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed during a US counter-terrorism operation, Donald Trump has said.

Hamza bin Laden, who had been groomed by his dad to become his successor, was killed in the region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The White House said the son of the 9/11 mastermind had become an increasingly prominent figure in the terrorist organisation.

But they gave no further details on when Hamza bin Laden was killed or how the United States confirmed his death.

The statement said his death ‘not only deprives Al Qaeda of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operation activities of the group’.

Osama bin Laden was killed by US Navy Seals in a raid on his house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.

In July US intelligence officials leaked news of the Saudi Arabian born terrorist’s death but they refused to offer further information on when or how he died.

This is the first time US involvement in the 30-year-old terror heir’s death has been confirmed.

A $1million reward for information leading to his capture was issued by the US State Department in February this year.

Hamza’s last known public statement was released by Al Qaeda’s public relations department in 2018.

In it, he issued a threat against Saudi Arabia and called on the people of the Arabian peninsula to revolt.

Hamza was born to Khairiah Sabar, one of Osama bin Laden’s three wives, reports metro.co.uk.

The terror heir married a daughter of high-ranking Al Qaeda operative Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah when he was 17.

He was dubbed the ‘Crown Prince of Terror’ in 2008 after a poem said to have been written by him was unearthed.

It said: “Accelerate the destruction of America, Britain, France and Denmark.”

In August 2015, he released an audio message which saw him call on followers to wage jihad (holy war) on Washington, Paris, London and Tel Aviv.

Hamza moved with his late father to Afghanistan in 1996, and appeared in propaganda videos after bin Laden Sr declared war on the United States.

The infamous terror mastermind became the world’s most wanted man after plotting the September 11 2001 attacks on New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania.

A total of 19 Al Qaeda terrorists killed 2,977 people after flying airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington DC and crashing a third jet into a field in Somerset County Pennsylvania.

Trump: We’ve killed Osama bin Laden’s son

The son of former Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed during a US counter-terrorism operation, Donald Trump has said.

Hamza bin Laden, who had been groomed by his dad to become his successor, was killed in the region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The White House said the son of the 9/11 mastermind had become an increasingly prominent figure in the terrorist organisation.

But they gave no further details on when Hamza bin Laden was killed or how the United States confirmed his death.

The statement said his death ‘not only deprives Al Qaeda of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operation activities of the group’.

Osama bin Laden was killed by US Navy Seals in a raid on his house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.

In July US intelligence officials leaked news of the Saudi Arabian born terrorist’s death but they refused to offer further information on when or how he died.

This is the first time US involvement in the 30-year-old terror heir’s death has been confirmed.

A $1million reward for information leading to his capture was issued by the US State Department in February this year.

Hamza’s last known public statement was released by Al Qaeda’s public relations department in 2018.

In it, he issued a threat against Saudi Arabia and called on the people of the Arabian peninsula to revolt.

Hamza was born to Khairiah Sabar, one of Osama bin Laden’s three wives, reports metro.co.uk.

The terror heir married a daughter of high-ranking Al Qaeda operative Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah when he was 17.

He was dubbed the ‘Crown Prince of Terror’ in 2008 after a poem said to have been written by him was unearthed.

It said: “Accelerate the destruction of America, Britain, France and Denmark.”

In August 2015, he released an audio message which saw him call on followers to wage jihad (holy war) on Washington, Paris, London and Tel Aviv.

Hamza moved with his late father to Afghanistan in 1996, and appeared in propaganda videos after bin Laden Sr declared war on the United States.

The infamous terror mastermind became the world’s most wanted man after plotting the September 11 2001 attacks on New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania.

A total of 19 Al Qaeda terrorists killed 2,977 people after flying airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington DC and crashing a third jet into a field in Somerset County Pennsylvania.

Trump: We’ve killed Osama bin Laden’s son

The son of former Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed during a US counter-terrorism operation, Donald Trump has said.

Hamza bin Laden, who had been groomed by his dad to become his successor, was killed in the region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The White House said the son of the 9/11 mastermind had become an increasingly prominent figure in the terrorist organisation.

But they gave no further details on when Hamza bin Laden was killed or how the United States confirmed his death.

The statement said his death ‘not only deprives Al Qaeda of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operation activities of the group’.

Osama bin Laden was killed by US Navy Seals in a raid on his house in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011.

In July US intelligence officials leaked news of the Saudi Arabian born terrorist’s death but they refused to offer further information on when or how he died.

This is the first time US involvement in the 30-year-old terror heir’s death has been confirmed.

A $1million reward for information leading to his capture was issued by the US State Department in February this year.

Hamza’s last known public statement was released by Al Qaeda’s public relations department in 2018.

In it, he issued a threat against Saudi Arabia and called on the people of the Arabian peninsula to revolt.

Hamza was born to Khairiah Sabar, one of Osama bin Laden’s three wives, reports metro.co.uk.

The terror heir married a daughter of high-ranking Al Qaeda operative Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah when he was 17.

He was dubbed the ‘Crown Prince of Terror’ in 2008 after a poem said to have been written by him was unearthed.

It said: “Accelerate the destruction of America, Britain, France and Denmark.”

In August 2015, he released an audio message which saw him call on followers to wage jihad (holy war) on Washington, Paris, London and Tel Aviv.

Hamza moved with his late father to Afghanistan in 1996, and appeared in propaganda videos after bin Laden Sr declared war on the United States.

The infamous terror mastermind became the world’s most wanted man after plotting the September 11 2001 attacks on New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania.

A total of 19 Al Qaeda terrorists killed 2,977 people after flying airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington DC and crashing a third jet into a field in Somerset County Pennsylvania.

How impostor of NNPC’s COO almost scammed UK firm

A company based in Salehurst, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, United Kingdom (UK), narrowly escaped being scammed by am impostor of Chief Operating Officer, at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The Corporation, which confirmed this on Saturday, advised that individuals and corporate bodies, locally and internationally, should be wary of unscrupulous elements parading themselves as officials of the corporation.

The warming, NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, said in a statement, came in the wake of the claim by a group of dubious individuals to be representing “a Gas and Power Committee” of the corporation, hosting a chief executive of a United Kingdom based company in a purported “office of NNPC” in Abuja recently.

The release said one of the miscreants had claimed the identity of NNPC Chief Operation Officer (COO), Gas and Power, Engr. Yusuf Usman, all in an attempt to swindle the unsuspecting company based in Salehurst, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, UK.

Xenophobia: SA’s President booed at Mugabe’s burial

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa felt the full force of the feeling of Africans towards his nation following recent xenophobic attacks on foreigners in the Rainbow Nation, when he was booed by the crowd in the Harare’s National Sports Stadium, venue of Saturday’s burial ceremony for Zimbabwe’s founder Robert Mugabe.

The attacks, which took place earlier this month that triggered international anger, were mainly targeted on shops owned by African migrants.

The master of ceremony was forced to appeal to the crowd to give Ramaphosa a chance to speak. Eventually when he did, Ramaphosa showed contrition for the attacks when he said: “I stand before you as a fellow African to express my regret and to apologise for what has happened in our country.”

His apology brought cheering from the crowd. Mugabe, who led Zimbabwe for 37 years, from independence until he was ousted by the army in November 2017, was honoured as an icon, principled leader and African intellectual giant at the state funeral, after a week of disputes over his burial threatened to embarrass President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

He died in a Singapore hospital on September 6 aged 95, far away from a country he left polarised by a raging political rivalry between its two largest political parties, ZANU-PF and the opposition MDC. His remains will be interred in a mausoleum at the National Heroes Acre in the capital Harare in about 30 days, his nephew said on Friday, contradicting earlier comments that a burial would be held on Sunday.

On Saturday, Mnangagwa walked behind the casket carrying Mugabe’s body as it was wheeled into the centre of Harare’s National Sports Stadium and placed on a podium decorated with flowers so that heads of states could say their farewells.

Senior army generals and Mugabe’s wife and children followed, as a brass band played. The 60,000-seater stadium was only half-filled. In a tribute to his predecessor, Mnangagwa said Mugabe stood in defence of Africans. He urged the West to remove sanctions that were imposed during Mugabe’s rule.

“We who remain shall continue to hear his rich, brave, defiant and inspiring voice … encouraging and warning us to be vigilant and astute,” Mnangagwa said in a speech. Walter Chidhakwa, who spoke on behalf of Mugabe’s family, said Mugabe was an icon who was determined and unflinching in pursuing policies like land reform and later the black economic empowerment programme. Mugabe left behind a country wrecked by hyperinflation, dollarisation and deeply entrenched corruption.

Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta called Mugabe an intellectual giant, “a visionary leader and a relentless champion of African dignity.” Other heads of state who attended Saturday’s funeral included long-ruling leaders from Equatorial Guinea and Congo while China, Russia and Cuba, which supported Zimbabwe’s liberation movements that fought white minority rule, were represented by officials. Prominent officials from Western countries, which were critical of Mugabe’s rule, did not feature in the official funeral programme.

Mnangagwa led heads of state in viewing Mugabe’s body, which was followed by a military 21-gun salute to honour Mugabe, reports Reuters

s the anti-smuggling and anti-oil theft borders patrol operation launched recently by the Federal Government of Nigeria, enters its day 26 today, indications are that the economies of Benin and Niger Republics have come under severe pressure even as the Government of Niger Republic has banned the importation of foreign (parboiled) rice into the country in an effort to persuade Nigeria to re-open the borders.

The people of Niger Republic do not eat parboil rice (they eat white rice), but importers based in Benin and Nigeria import parboiled rice to Benin Republic in very large quantities and then re-export same to Niger, Chad and Cameroon (all Nigeria’s next door neighbours) for smuggling into Nigeria where parboiled rice is eaten.

This is coming as the National Security Adviser (NSA) Maj. Gen. Mohammed Babagana Monguno (rtd) has disclosed that the ongoing border security operation, code-named ‘Exercise ‘Swift Response’, will continue in the four geo-political zones of the country until Nigeria’s neighbours take decisive action to ensure that their countries no longer serve as transit points for smuggling of goods into or out of Nigeria.

Speaking at the inauguration of two armoured anti-smuggling patrol vessels acquired by the Nigerian Customs Service, on Thursday in Lagos, Maj. Gen. Monguno said President Muhammadu Buhari had already conveyed to the leaders of the neighbouring countries that the operation will continue until neighbours ensure smuggling into or out of Nigeria stops

He said: “The bottomline of what Mr. President is saying is that if it is in the interest of neighbouring countries to allow all these dangerous items to transit their territories into Nigeria, so that they can collect transit charges, then it is in Nigeria’s national interest to shut our borders.”

Maj. Gen. Moguno added that the operation has been very successful and did not give any indication that it will end soon.

Sunday Telegraph learnt that as the border hurts the economy of Niger Republic, President of the country, Mahamadou Issoufou had pleaded that the borders be reopened, but Nigeria had told him to first of all stop smuggling of rice and other products across the borders into Nigeria.

To this end, President Issoufou had on September 5, placed a ban on the importation of the foreign (parboil) rice from Benin Republic.

In a circular to all the Customs formations and relevant Government Agencies in Niger a copy of which was made available to PRNigerian; the Nigerien government said that the ban took effect from September 5, 2019.

The DIG in-charge of Customs Service in Niamey, Mr. Oumarou Amadou said revenant agencies of government are to comply strictly or face severe sanctions.

Recall that when the President of Benin Republic, Patrice Guillaume Athanase Talon met with President Buhari at the recent Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7) in Yokohama, Japan; he had pleaded that the border operation be brought to an end.

Meanwhile, the Controller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) has said at the commissioning of the two anti-smuggling patrol vessels in Lagos that Nigeria’s quest for non-oil revenue is a largely dependent on the Nigerian Customs Service to fight smuggling and bring it to the barest minimum.

According to him, experience has shown that whenever smugglers face stiff enforcement by Customs anti-smuggling operatives on the land, they turn to the waterways to carry out their illegal trade.

He added: “Unfortunately, before now the Service has been weak on the water arising from the lack of seagoing vessels to effectively to checkmate smugglers on the high sea. This situation led to the death of nine Customs Marine officers while confronting deadly petrol smugglers on the sea in 2014.

He explained that the two seagoing vessels are well equipped with necessary firepower and other requirements for long time water patrol is in line with the ongoing repositioning of the Service to effectively deliver its mandate to the nation.

Col. Ali said: “With these vessels, I hope smugglers will no longer take advantage of NCS vulnerability on water to smuggle in contraband. NCS Marine operatives can now sail to intersect them right on the high sea.

“The timing of this commissioning is strategic as it will on the immediate boost the ongoing joint security Ex-Swift Response on the water and henceforth remain symbol of NCS strength on the seathe NCS as a present unbundling of the Service now has four marine Commands, namely Western marine,Easter Maritime,North western marine and North Eastern marine Command. It is therefore the resolve of management that smugglers find no space to operate either on land, air or sea.”

Buhari’s successor should come from S’East –Gen Williams

one-time Head, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Nigerian Army Maj-General Isola Williams has said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor should come from the South East after his second term in 2023. Isola, who made this known in an exclusive interview with Sunday Telegraph, was airing his view on reports making the rounds that the National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, would like to take a shot at the presidency after Buhari. “Yes, he has the right to aspire to succeed Buhari. It is his constitutional right. But I have a different view about it.

The next leader in 2023 should come from the South East. “Obasanjo has gone for two terms, Yar’Adua, who did not complete his two terms, had Jonathan who did it for him. In addition, he (Jonathan) had one term, Buhari making two terms now. We have been rotating it.

How can the South have two? Secondly, a Yoruba man as Vice President, two terms. Why don’t we have an Igbo president and somebody from the middle belt as Vice President? Within Middle Belt, Plateau, Kogi, Benue, as Vice President. That is what I am looking for. Any ethnic group in this country can produce one very good leader.”

Also, he spoke on the current insecurity ravaging the entire country, adding that Buhari is not being told the truth about the insurgency in the North Eastern part of the country. “In every normal country where there is strategic thinking and you have a serious issue with your policing and your crime fighting, you do not post the military to do what the police can do. Whereas the military is facing insurgency within the country and they are finding it difficult to cope. The same old story: “Technical defeat”.

What is technical defeat? Do we want to be like Pakistan in which you continue to fight insurgency forever? It creates instability in itself, not only insecurity and not insurgency alone.” Furthermore, he said that the Federal Government cannot resolve the issue of the leader of the proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Ibrahim el Zakzaky, who has been in detention since December 2015. Nigeria, he continued may face urban guerrilla which is more dangerous than Boko Haram should the leader die in detention. “I do not think el Zakzaky will be crazy enough to become like the Boko Haram.

The only thing that can happen is that if he dies in detention, then he loses control over his own people. What I am afraid that may happen in his own case will be urban guerrilla warfare. It is worse than Boko Haram because they strike and go back into the bush. Their own they will be in the city and be attacking anyone all over Nigeria. “The way out of it is that the Islamic Community in Nigeria must find a way out of it. Nigeria is not the only country where you have the Shiite people. The Shiite is like the Pentecostal.

The Sunni and the Shiite must find a way to solve the problem. The government cannot do it.” He spoke on other national issues which are all contained in his explosive interview on pages. •Read full interview on pages 22,27